it's the little things...

hear classic country live at the ryman

2009-11-08T11:57:00.000-06:00

Maybe about 4 years ago I made it to Nashville for the first time. I loved it even though, as a Texas Country music fan, you're probably not supposed to. On a subsequent trip, I forced one of my friends/co-workers to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Ryman. If you make it to Nashville, I'd recommend both. I guess I realized that you don't have to be a fan of some of the cheesy current Nashville "artists" (you know, the ones who just sing songs other people wrote and stand there--without an instrument in their hands--looking pretty) to appreciate the history of the place.

I love the Hall of Fame. I love buildings that have meaning. My favorite part is that on the outside of the rotunda, there's a slightly stylized rendition of the musical notes of "Will the Circle Be Unbroken". But there's more. From wikipedia:

The new building's exterior is laced with symbolic images of music. The most obvious of these are the windows that mirror the configuration of piano keys. More conspicuous images include the diamond-shaped radio mast, which is a miniaturized replica of the WSM tower located a few miles south of Nashville. The round discs surrounding the tower symbolize the different size records and CDs country music has been recorded upon. When viewed from the air, the building is in the shape of a bass clef. The north-west corner of the building juts out like the tail fin of a 50s Cadillac.

I love Hatch Show Print (and what they print). You've seen their posters. If only we had a different wedding theme, perhaps I would have had them print our invitations. (I do keep telling The Hubby that we need to get remarried each year so I can have every kind of wedding I'd want...)

But I LOVE the Ryman. When I was there I couldn't help but feel my parents. I know, it's weird. It's just that we grew up with classic country and I felt like it was a place they would have loved to have visited. But I guess visiting wasn't enough for me. So I added to the Life List. The Ryman opened its doors in 1892 (as the Union Gospel Tabernacle) and was home to the Grand Ole Opry from 1943-74. Today you can hear all sorts of acts at the Ryman but I wanted to hear it like the old days, in all its classic country glory.

For a few years now I'd been checking their calendar. Since so many other types of acts play there, it's hard to find a classic country artist not sold out and playing on a date you could, you know, just swing on over to Nashville. About a month ago I realized Willie Nelson was playing there this past Thursday. The Hubby and I made a little trip of it...

We stayed in my favorite hotel of all time. I hadn't been there since it had been renovated. Ahh, even more lovely. We ate barbecue. For several meals. We saw Willie with about 2,300 other folks. It was a sold out show and there really are fantastic acoustics. He sang some of his stuff and some other classic songs. The last song was "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" and everyone sang along and clapped. They turned the audience lights up and you could imagine folks singing gospel here a hundred years ago, needing their paper fans in lieu of air conditioning. I got a little emotional. It was a great show.

On Friday, we drove down to Lynchburg, enjoying the fall color the entire way. We ate at Miss Mary Bobo's (now owned by the Jack Daniel's folks). Good southern food (sweet tea, fried okra, carrot cake, etc.) and good company (you eat family-style with strangers). Then walked through town and down to the distillery. It was our 4th distillery tour (the first in the US). The tour guide was a very entertaining older gentleman. Jack himself? He was only 5' 2"... I don't know why that was surprising. We headed on back up to Nashville by way of Tri-Star Vineyards & Winery (run by a couple on the verge of retiring), Arrington Vineyards (a beautiful property--we enjoyed the evening's bonfire--owned by Kix Brooks), and Martin's Barbeque Joint. Then we headed back to the hotel, exhausted from a great couple of days. If only we could celebrate each quarter of marriage with a trip as good as this one...

short week

2009-11-04T09:12:00.000-06:00

Today is my Friday. We're taking off tomorrow and Friday to go mark something off the Life List. I don't know if it's that things FINALLY start to feel like they're settling down or what, but I'm all about crossing things off this list lately. Trying to encourage The Hubby that now is the perfect time for a new puppy. And maybe we'll sit around one weekend eating nothing but mac n cheese...

fall in the garden: picture post

2009-11-03T11:59:00.003-06:00

So the weather has been pretty perfect around here. And I was doing some reading and it seems like now is prime time to add new plantings to the yard. Since our winters are generally pretty mild, this gives the plants a long time to establish before the crazy summers.

We've put this little lime tree in the ground. Yea for citrus!

And this tiny green plant on the left, an ixora, has been added. I was looking for an appropriately-sized little guy who could fill in this area in front of the house but also not die back in the fall. There are two other guys in this picture that do just that. By this time next year, it should look fabulous. By the spring, we may have some orange ranunculus...you know, if the 30 bulbs I planted agree.

The Hubby has been hard at work digging up the poorly installed (by previous owners) flagstone. We're going to expand the veggie garden a bit and re-install a smaller path (or some path, with some materials). We've already changed our minds several times including after this picture was taken.

We still have some old herbs as well as some new ones. Seems like there are very few cute herb labels out there and ones I bought at Ikea (that you could label yourself) just washed away (the labeling, that is). So I whipped these little wire ones up. Easy, fun, and a little rustic looking. I think the oregano likes it because it is looking fantastic right now.

And my pansies. I don't really enjoy putting annuals in the ground only to have to rip them up again so they rotate in some pots on the porch. These little guys greet you before you get to the front door.

This is what you get when you hack back an overgrown hibiscus...a lovely dark red bouquet (that looked pretty nice on the black Halloween table runner). Seen here in a wedding gift--an equally lovely Vera Wang vase. Thanks, Gary.

I wasn't totally in the mood for Halloween decorations this year so I only did a little. Until Halloween. Then I felt guilty. The creepy porch.

And the husband who would scare trick-or-treaters and their mothers. (He doesn't scare me. I think he's cute.)

what happens when you go a week without posting

2009-10-29T12:59:00.000-05:00

Braindumping...

Remember when I said there was a potential new job? Got the second interview but didn't get the job. Was it the perfect job for me? Probably not. I guess the current overwhelm with work led me to try to find a way out that was different from actually just tackling all the work that had been piling up. So this last week I finally got to the point where I could suck it up and just DO THINGS to help me feel better. Mark some things off lists. Get organized. File a few piles that were on the desk. I got over some pretty big hurdles but have at least one big item to finish. Overall? Feeling a bit better in this area.

I heard somewhere that only boring people talk about the weather. I disagree. Perhaps you're boring if that's ALL you talk about. I must say the change of seasons is my favorite time. Fall has been interesting so far. Some torrential rains, several days where you need to run the heat and air conditioning in the same day (we're sticking with doing neither). Some great cool, low humidity days where yard work has been accomplished. Visible progress...I like it.

Since I've been home more, I've also been able to do a little more cooking and baking. That has been nicer than expected. We've enjoyed some good meals and had family over last Sunday for some comfort food. If anyone has any tips on making a pot roast super tender, I'd like to hear them. I did tweak the recipe and was pleased with the flavor. Also? Loving a newish peach cobbler recipe.

Other things I'm loving? Grape Gatorade. And dresses on this website. Ok, well some are a little crazy but others are ridiculously fabulous.

The Husband and I had date night last night. We've been trying to do it for awhile and finally made it! We saw Where the Wild Things Are and then had some Mexican food. Good times. The movie was interesting to watch and think about. I'm so glad the costumes didn't look crazy. Made for some good conversation at dinner.

I guess that's about all that's been going on. I'm not sure why I haven't been posting more regularly. I think blogging (in general) is being killed by Twitter and Facebook. This makes me sad.

positive quote o' the day

2009-10-21T10:05:00.003-05:00

"When we tire of well-worn ways, we seek for new. This restless craving in the souls of men spurs them to climb, and to seek the mountain view." - Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Feelin' well-worn over here. Looking at making some changes...

weekend

2009-10-18T17:02:00.002-05:00

Hopefully my husband is coming home today. There's a chance he'll stay out of town until tomorrow which would mean I wouldn't get to see him until Tuesday evening. That's sad.

So yesterday I got a little work done around the house. Did a little laundry. Made some lists. Got some shopping done. Baked a cake (that looked really terrible but tastes good). Hung out with The Brother. Watched some of his cable.

Today? Got some yard work done. Made dinner (ahead of time). Laid around a little because I was starting to feel like I might be getting sick. Am trying to refuse the sickness. It's been a good weekend. I should be trying to get a little work done but I'm not going to. It is still the weekend afterall. I'm reclaiming it.

one step back, two forward

2009-10-16T19:29:00.000-05:00

So I apparently needed a slight meltdown yesterday. Up to my eyeballs in work and it still keeps coming at me from every direction. Not a very good start to me trying to be more Zen, positive, stand-still-while-the-crazy-swirls.

But. BUT! Today? Much better.

Good stuff from yesterday? Having a husband who will be the big spoon. And pet my head (which is oddly comforting to me...guessing that stems from childhood). Grey's Anatomy. Uh, yeah, that's all I can think of. Like I said, yesterday? Not good.

Today? A cold front! Pleasant weather! Low humidity! One of my work sites actually doing things right. Eating a good lunch with a good friend. Getting our air ducts cleaned. (What can I say? We're wild and crazy folks.) Spending the afternoon with my husband. Hammock time! Letting the new, extra work just roll off me with it's ridiculousness. An impromptu dinner. Sending my husband off to ~~camp~~ the country (where he goes hunting occasionally) for the weekend. A whole weekend ahead to spend however I like. Much, much better day today.

good stuff about today

2009-10-14T20:36:00.000-05:00

admiring the weird, foggy weather in the mountains
driving through a great neighborhood full of old Victorians
getting work done
listening to middle-aged women chat on the plane
making it home
making it home safely
having a partner who takes care of things when I'm gone
blogs
a miraculously cleaner sunroom
the promise of a bonus
and the promise of fall
a quick email exchange with my bestie with the baby
that I'll be sleeping in my own bed
and have someone with whom to cuddle

on its ear

2009-10-13T20:18:00.000-05:00

I don't know if it's just the natural progression of technology or the nature of my job, but I use the internet. A LOT. There's tons of information at your fingertips. You can stay connected with people. And you can "meet" new. It's no wonder I did most of my wedding planning research online. I found weddingbee.com. At first I wasn't sure what the fuss was about and then I became obsessed. You'll notice it's the only wedding blog still on the list over there.

Why do I still read a wedding blog post-wedding? I'm involved in the weddings of the other girls who were planning while I was. All these women had something interesting and different to contribute but one of my favorites was Mrs. Cheese. She's a great writer. And during the whole process she was honest and real. Since I'm not a rainbow-n-unicorn kinda gal 100% of the time (or maybe ever), this was a huge relief.

Wedding planning, the actual day, and the subsequent marriage isn't always easy and fun but so many people only talk about the positive. Maybe some people really can ignore the crazy or wear rose-colored blinders. Good for them. Have I had post-wedding blues? Maybe a little. Sometimes I think about what I would have liked to have gone differently, more smoothly. Sometimes I'm disappointed in myself for not being that glitter-n-puppies girl. Sometimes I'm mad at myself for regretting any of it at all. Part of me wishes I could have a do-over. Maybe then I'd be smiling in at least one of the rehearsal photos. And I would have been even more explicit with the wedding day timeline. And would have started the whole day even earlier so I could have gotten more pictures. And while we're at it, I would change some of the things that followed the wedding and some honeymoon happenings as well. But alas... Can't go back.

I guess my point is, all this stuff is hard. I feel very fortunate that I've found Mrs. Cheese's personal blog and can read about her struggles and what she's trying to do to improve things. The internet is good. Also? Lately it feels like I've been focused too much on what's wrong instead of being grateful for all that's right. Mrs. Cheese tried to blog positively for the month of September. I think that's a great idea that I'm going to try for awhile. And I've gotten away from my introspective, psychology-student self in favor of just getting tasks marked off lists. I need some centering, some balance, some self-care, some less tangible goals. Wish me luck.

(Good about today? The beauty that is Colorado, chocolate cake, sweaters, and the opportunity to miss my husband.)

the wayside

2009-10-12T09:10:00.000-05:00

Seems like the blogging is falling by it...

On Friday I had to do real work and then try to finish getting ready for the garage sale. On Saturday we woke up early to set things out and finish pricing random items. It was a pretty good day weather-wise and we had a lot of traffic. Got rid of a lot of things and made a little money. I put up some of the remaining items on Craig's List and have gotten several responses so no official income tally quite yet. We're donating the rest.

A few garage sale tips? You should advertise at least a little. I don't think you need them to start obscenely early like they did when I was a kid. We started at 8 but probably didn't have people show up until about 8:30. (Which was fine since we didn't even have everything put out yet.) Price things to get rid of them. If you're pricing something too high, maybe you secretly want to keep it. And if you're going through all your belongings and cramming them into boxes before cramming those boxes into your overstuffed garage? You might as well price things as you go along. Why I didn't do that is beyond me...

Very glad that is over. Hopefully we'll get the leftovers out of the garage this week and can then organize what's left. You know, the stuff that actually belongs in the garage. And maybe I'll do a little yardwork this weekend. The weather promises perfection and The Hubby is leaving town.

Yesterday, we mercifully vegged all day. A little TV, a little reading, a little internet, a little Wii. Good times.

Update to last week's post? The birth giving actually happened and my friends are now parents to a ridiculously cute baby girl. I sneakily accessorized the baby's room while they were all at the hospital. Perhaps I needed some crafting. I won't claim it was selfless. As for me? One doctor appointment down (no problems), one to go (follow-up from 6-ish months ago), and one cancelled (condition resolved). Things are looking up there. Obviously garage sale craziness is off my plate. And I'm in the middle of trying to pin down a date for the second interview for this potential new job. Perhaps early next week. More on that later (if anything comes of it). And I finally made it through that stupid snowboarding game on the Wii.

Basically, things are better. I'm trying to remain Zen as much as possible. So tell me, what do you do to at least try to stay Zen while the crazy is swirling about you?

all over the map

2009-10-05T11:14:00.000-05:00

Things are busy and crazy and ever-changing. Weren't things supposed to settle down after the wedding planning was over? Wasn't I supposed to have free time?

Let's recap, shall we? Since we got married I've thrown a baby shower, gone on the fabulous honeymoon, traveled to California for another wedding, traveled to Vegas and San Antonio for several days for work, gotten my hair cut (bangs!), changed my name, had 2 doctor appointments, had huge job changes, and had one job interview. The Husband also moved in; we went through every possession we each owned to see what we should keep, sell, toss; and prepped for a garage sale.

In the next two weeks, I have 3 more doctor appointments and one of my best friends is giving birth. And if things look good with the potential new job, I'll have to fly out for a face-to-face interview. Can we say crazy?

Granted, many of these things are positive. Baby/baby shower? Good. Honeymoon and other traveling? Mostly good. Potential new job? So far so good. Marriage/living together? A big transition but good. My eye health? Good. Other doctors appointments and changes in the current job? Stressful. Garage sale? Will be so glad when it's over. And the name change thing has been very challenging thus far (but glad that it means I'm married).

Speaking of name change... It's not freaking me out so much to see the new last name behind my first. It is weird to sign a new name and to not be able to effortlessly introduce myself to people. The thing that freaks me out the most is seeing "Mrs. cjm." Woah. I think that means I'm an old person. :) A very scattered, busy, overworked, neglectful-of-friends old person as it turns out.

i'd rather be in the yard

2009-10-02T11:37:00.002-05:00

I don't want to work today. There's a lot to do. And I'm again in that place where there are organizational things and the figuring out of things to do. Things that don't have deadlines. Things that no one will ever see whether or not I've done but will allegedly make my job more manageable down the road. We'll see about that, though, what with all of our big changes.

So, yeah. I'd rather be working in the yard. Or maybe working on preparing for that fictional garage sale that I'm determined will actually materialize next weekend. Or hanging out in the hammock.

Sigh...but I'm inside even though the weather is nice. And should be working. Wanna see another wedding sneak peek before I go? It's my cake. Perhaps I'd also rather be eating that right now.

what's been goin' on

2009-09-28T10:04:00.003-05:00

Domesticity. You know, in between bouts of travel. I've only been home since about midnight on Friday and am leaving around lunchtime today. And I had to work over the weekend. But I also got a lot done around the house. It's starting to look a little, um, less lived in. Woohoo. Here are some recent projects.

The Hubby's roadside find from years ago has been repainted (in only a slightly new color but it's no longer shiny and has flowers!) and now the guest bed has a real nightstand:

Speaking of the guest bedroom, it is now sporting new linens. I've always wanted them to be all white:

I made cobbler (peach and raspberry from here) in an awesome green Fiesta pie plate that looked better in person:

There are a few signs that The Husband now lives here (the beginnings of his family's wall in the hallway):

And the shelf in the living room has a little wedding area:

That's it for now. Next up? Eye doctor. Then a long drive.

ireland honeymoon, part four

2009-09-21T17:31:00.003-05:00

And now for the finale... On Wednesday (the 2nd), we had a quick Continental breakfast before heading on to Tullamore. We stopped along the way to visit Emo's Court. Beautiful gardens, pretty nice home, and giant redwoods. Not a sullen, angst-ridden teenager in sight.

Then we visited the Tullamore Dew distillery which was combined with a little town history museum. This tour was self-guided and was pretty interesting. We learned more about coopering, the art of making those wooden barrels the whiskey is aged in. I can't imagine ever making even one barrel that could hold liquid. My luck, after all this time and labor, I'd go to char the inside and would burn the whole thing down. Props to the coopers.

We ended the tour with the requisite sampling. The Husband tried the whiskey while I had the liqueur, Irish Mist. Now that's something I could get behind. Much less harsh when compared to straight whiskey. We also had some lunch and an Irish coffee. Turns out the Tullamore folks were responsible for popularizing the drink in the US.

Then we drove the short distance to Kilbeggan to tour their distillery as well. Also a self-guided tour and you could really get up close and personal with the equipment. Again, even though we toured multiple distilleries, they all had something unique to offer and it didn't seem like you were just seeing the same ol' thing repeatedly. And they had a real live cooper working on the premises. Fun!

Because we didn't need a car in Dublin and also didn't want the stress of returning it by 8:00 the next morning, we found a B&B to stay in right outside the city. We returned the car to the airport the night before, ate McDonald's (blasphemy, I know) and headed back south via the bus. We ended up getting a great bus pass that included roundtrip airport transport, any city buses and the hop on and off bus tour. Too bad their bus system is incredibly confusing. No one really knows what's going on--even the locals. Even the transit employees. At least everyone is nice and tries to help as much as they can. On our way back to the B&B that night, we ended up on a bus with other B&B guests. They were kind enough to show us the short cut from the bus stop to our temporary home.

We chatted with those folks over breakfast the next morning and the dad gave us two free passes for the Guinness tour (that they hadn't used). Very nice. After breakfast, we took a cab to our hotel. It was the only place we stayed 2 consecutive nights while we were there. Reasonably nice hotel but no one knew where it was...that always makes for a fun cab ride. We were able to check in early and lounged around a bit before heading to the city.

Our fellow American tourists (as well as guidebooks) recommended taking the Trinity College tour before seeing the Book of Kells. The tour guide was a current student--very funny and informative. It's crazy to think that here's this college...and it's older than our country. The Book of Kells was amazing when you really think about the work that went into it and the technology that was available at the time. I'm glad we got to see it since you probably don't get the chance very often in life.

We spent some time visiting the National Gallery and seeing some of their art for free. Then we headed on to Bruxelles Pub for a quick bite before seeing Ray LaMontagne in concert. Perhaps this was the real reason for the trip, not to celebrate the joining of our lives, etc. :) Really, it was probably why I consented to us leaving a few weeks after the wedding. I found Ray's music while wedding planning and even used one of his songs for the recessional. It was a great show with a fantastic opening act...The Low Anthem. These people played 3 times the number of instruments as they had people. Seriously. And, then there was Ray...

Friday was our last day in Ireland. We slept in, tried to figure out the bus schedule so we'd be able to leave the following day, were told misinformation (we later realized), and ate lunch at Flanagan's. The rest of the day was pretty much spent on the on-and-off bus tour. We saw some interesting sites including the Custom House, Phoenix Park, and Christ Church Cathedral. We also toured St. Patrick's Cathedral and Guinness. The best part about Guinness was the bar on the top floor. It's round with the bar in the center and all the walls are windows. You have a great view of the city. That night we had pizza and dessert at the hotel and packed up for the early Saturday morning flight.

The Husband would like for me to tell you (I'm sure) that we tried to take a bus Saturday morning but realized that they didn't start running early enough. Fortunately, there were lots of available cabs. We took one and the driver said his meter was broken--it was charging us a lower rate but what can you do? He told us how much he estimated the fare would be and The Husband looks to see how much cash he had. I also had some left but soon realized it was probably in my pants pocket. The pants I wore yesterday. The pants that were packed in my suitcase in the trunk of the cab. Turns out, we had just enough money to pay the fare without worrying about the misplaced cash. The flight back was thankfully uneventful.

It was a really good trip. I'd highly recommend it (although yours may not be as good since you probably won't be honeymooning with my hubby--but perhaps your travel companion will make a Guinness mustache, too).

we fit, yo

2009-09-18T08:15:00.001-05:00

We're not the typical couple. Even though folks are marrying older these days, we're still above average. We've lived with roommates and on our own. We've had time to inherit things from other households. We've had real jobs for years and if we needed something we could afford to buy it. This makes registering for wedding gifts a difficult task.

What did we do? Registered for some things we needed, some upgrade items, and lots of fun things. Last night we used two of these. We did our first round of the 30 Day Shred. Holy moly. That you can feel that way in a mere 20-ish minutes? That's got to be good. Then, since we were still alive (and by "we" I mean me as The Hubby is obviously way more fit), we set up the Wii Fit.

It was fun to see our little Miis dressed up in their workout clothes. You have to enter your height and DOB and they calculate your weight and BMI. Then they test your posture and balance and stuff to give you your Wii Fit age. Ok, so I misunderstood the directions. Twice. After the third round of testing, my age went from 51 to 52 to a much more respectable 37. For the first time, I'm older than The Husband. I told him I was enjoying being a cougar...

Both are good programs. They seem pretty enjoyable and are much more fun with a partner. We'll see how long we can keep it up.

irish honeymoon, part three

2009-09-16T15:41:00.001-05:00

I'm going to keep at the recaps even though no one appears interested. Is anyone reading blogs anymore or has everyone gone over to Facebook? No matter, the blog is like my own little (public) diary so it's as much for me as anyone else.

On Sunday morning we at breakfast at the B&B. Potato waffles! Then we dressed up and walked through the park to St. John's Church. It was The Husband's first Catholic mass and about half of it was in Gaelic. If you're Catholic, you know this makes no difference to you since it's all a giant pattern anyway. But it was bare bones mass. In and out in 30 minutes flat.

Then we headed on to Dingle, briefly stopping by the windmill outside of Tralee. We had read good things about the scenic Ring of Dingle (a drive around the peninsula) and were told if you were short on time you should do this instead of the Ring of Kerry. There are two routes from Tralee to Dingle. According to Rick Steves: "the easy southern route or the much more dramatic, scenic, and treacherous Conor Pass." We chose Conor Pass. It was indeed curvy, narrow, a little scary, and it was rainy and like driving in a cloud the visibility was so poor. The Hubby did well driving it, though.

When we got to Dingle we did the walking tour in our Rick Steves book. We had lunch at Paul Geaney's Bar and Restaurant (lamb stew and ham/cheese/pineapple panini). We bought art from the artist's daughter in a cute little gallery. We saw the tribute to Fungie, the Dingle Dolphin. The weather was really the worst of the trip but we attempted the Ring of Dingle anyway. After about 9 kilometers we turned back. This was enough, however, for The Husband to get to drive over the "upside down bridge." Twice. This part of the road has never had a bridge but was designed as a ford. Fun.

We drove on to Killarney but just stopped by the Tourist Information. Nothing too exciting. We basically were just trying to cover some ground. We ended up staying at An Cuasan, a B&B near Macroom. We had dinner at the recommended Abbey Hotel in Ballyvourney/Ballymakeery. We walked around the little village a bit before heading back to the B&B.

The next morning we headed off to the nearby toy soldier factory. They were quite neat but pricey. Then we headed on to Blarney. We'd read that the castle is very touristy and overpriced so we had hoped to get to see only the gardens. Well, turns out you have to pay for that, too. So we skipped that and wandered about town. It is a pretty area.

As we headed away from there and on to Cork and Midleton, we stumbled upon Barryscourt Castle. It had been redone and even included some furnishings that would have been present in it's prime. There was a great tour guide and the whole thing was free. The tour guide even said that this tour was better than Blarney, where she also sometimes gives tours. I'd definitely recommend it. The had nice gardens as well.

So off to Midleton for the first whiskey distillery tour, Jameson Midleton Distillery. This was the most touristy tour but very interesting. I had read that at the end they ask for volunteers for a whiskey tasting. The Husband, of course, raised his hand and was chosen. He got to taste an American, Irish, and Scottish sample. Lots of pictures from there.

Then we drove on to Dungarvan, one of my favorite places. It was beautiful and would have been completely overdeveloped if it were in the US. As it was, there was a quaint little town on one side of the bay and our B&B was on the other. The man who owned the B&B had grown up next door. It seemed like a lot of folks didn't move far from where they grew up. We ended up getting Italian that night (very good food) after taking in our options and being followed around by a very friendly dog.

Tuesday morning, The Husband finally got to try white pudding. Eh. And we drove on to Waterford even though we new the factory was closed. We went through the visitor's center and I bought a Celtic cross Christmas ornament (since I try to pick up a Christmas ornament whenever I travel). Then we headed on to Kilkenny. There, we visited the Kilkenny Castle. This one was very different as it was set up more to show how fancypants the residents were rather than to be used primarily for defense. Very well restored. We also browsed some of the town including their rather large art center and St. Canice's Cathedral. We then headed on to Portalaoise and stayed in a B&B there. Dinner that night was at Egan's. Quite good, highly recommended, and the decor was nice as well.

Up next? Dublin (and our last installment).

angel stadium at anaheim

2009-09-14T11:50:00.004-05:00

In addition to getting to hang out in Redondo Beach this weekend and attend a wedding in Palos Verdes, we caught an Angel game before heading back home. It still amazes me how many baseball teams California has--and in such close proximity to one another. The Angels fans are pleasant enough. They enjoy the wave and throwing around beach balls and balloons.

We had heard that they have good food there. They do have a lot of restaurants represented (like we do at home). We ended up having garlic-parmesan fries (pretty good).

We had seats in the 200 level, 3rd base side, covered because I had already gotten too much sun the day before. The weather was great, however, and it would have been nice to take in some sun after rainy Ireland but the shade was more responsible. One neat feature of the ballpark is the waterfall. Oh, yeah. And the giant A outside. Other than that, just a nice normal ballpark.

It was kids' day and they represented. One fun thing was that some kids had gotten selected to do things like throw out the first pitch, be a guest announcer, work a camera, or help the grounds crew. It was fun (especially the enthusiastic guest announcer--a girl!).

The Angels played the White Sox and won 3-2. This was my 5th ballpark that was unrelated to the Astros. So far when I'm in attendance the home team wins 80% of the time. Think I could capitalize on that somehow?

and we're off. again.

2009-09-11T07:42:00.003-05:00

Leaving for California today. The Hubby is returning the favor of one of his groomsmen. The up side is that I had nothing to do with this wedding and I'm pretty sure I'll just be a guest. Would I prefer for it to be a local wedding? Or for it to be maybe next weekend? Yep, but what can you do... I suppose all the little house projects and the garage sale prep and the putting away of Hubby's stuff can wait till we get back. Since his schedule will be filled with groomsmen activities, I may just lounge on the beach. Or shop. I'm sure I can fill my time somehow.

And did I mention that we got our wedding pics back? I can't share all of them on here until we get the rights to them at the end of the year but there can be a few more sneak peeks.

Ireland honeymoon, part two

2009-09-09T19:26:00.001-05:00

Friday morning (the 28th) we woke up for our first Irish breakfast. They don't play. Sure you can have your normal Continental breakfast with cereals and breads and fruit and yogurt and stuff but if you're hardcore you have a traditional breakfast. This means eggs, tomato, sausage, and bacon (which is a weird cross between our bacon and ham but not like Canadian bacon...I know, it's hard to describe). If you're lucky you can also get white pudding or black pudding. Both are sausages but the black contains dried pig blood. Yum. No, not really. I wasn't a huge fan of any of the sausages but did try them all. The Hubby enjoyed them.

After breakfast we drove from Galway to Rossaveel so that we could take the 40-minute ferry ride to Inishmore, the largest of the Aran Islands. It's a 9x3 mile island that's very rural and like "old Ireland." You can tour the place on foot or bike or in a horse drawn carriage or van. If you go there, don't try to walk it. There's too much ground to cover in the hilly, incredibly windy area. Also? If you're prone to motion sickness (or even if you're not), leave from Rossaveel. It's a shorter trip than from Galway. Let me tell you, I've been seasick maybe once or twice in my whole life but this was the worst. There was no barfing but I needed to be still once we landed. This delayed us a bit.

Once we got going we visited the Aran Sweater Shop where I bought a traditional Aran sweater. The Hubby got a jaunty little cap. We picked up a few pastries from the grocery store and headed to what ended up being a vacant seal colony. We saw some ruins and landscape and houses and stone fencing. It rained off and on (never very heavily) but was so windy that you dried off almost immediately. Like I mentioned, there was too much ground to cover so we ended up trekking over a private road to get to the other main road and head back to the ferry landing. The boat trip back was MUCH better.

Then we were off to Clifden, further west. The land in this area (Connamera) was my favorite. It was so green and hilly and there were little lakes and forests. Just beautiful. The night before, I had read in one of our travel books that you may encounter a stray sheep or two along the roadways. Well, The Hubby was driving and I was enjoying the scenery. I pointed out something that I'm sure was picturesque off to our left. We were both admiring it and then I look ahead. "Sheep! Sheep, sheep, sheep!" Hubby was looking all around, everywhere except for DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF THE CAR. We stopped in time. No sheep were harmed in the making of our honeymoon.

When we decided on Ireland, I figured we should spend at least one night in a castle. There were a few options and the one we ended up getting was in Clifden. On the way there, however, we stopped by Ballynahinch Castle (our first yet unavailable choice). It was probably nicer on the inside than Abbeyglen where we stayed. But Abbeyglen felt more castle-like on the outside.

Abbeyglen certainly wasn't short on customer service. We had a great greeting by Brian, one of the owners. He addressed us as the "bride and groom" or newlyweds. He gave us free champagne and let us take a plateful of the dessert buffet to our room following dinner. Our room was in one of the turrets so it was about twice as large as most. We had our own little gas fireplace and a canopy bed.

We slept in on Saturday morning and had breakfast before we checked out of the castle. We walked around the small town of Clifden and then headed south. We stopped at our first "real" castle, Aughnanure, that was used for defense. The structure was restored but nothing was inside. It was interesting to learn how the architecture and building placement helped the people defend themselves.

After that, we headed on through Gort and Ennis and Limerick. I got to drive for the first time (no incidents other than freaking out The Husband). Our destination that evening was Tralee. When we got back home, I asked The Hubby where in Ireland he'd want to live if he could. He said this place. It's not too large of a town but has everything you'd need. And it has the International Rose of Tralee festival that we missed by about a week. Our B&B of the day was The Willows, ran by Mary and Tim. She was very chatty and informative and he was a handyman. He had restored their home/B&B and was nice to talk to as well. Mary recommended dinner at the Grand Hotel and we listened to her. It was a really good meal. We took dessert to go (also very good) and took the shortcut through the park to head "home."

Up next? Church, the Dingle Ring, and a little bit of Blarney...

ireland honeymoon, part one

2009-09-08T19:35:00.001-05:00

It was a long, eventful trip--one that I'm still tired from (or is it because of a long day of name changing?)--so I imagine this will take 2+ posts to recap.

We left for Ireland on August 26th. While we pretty much lost that entire day to traveling, it was not uneventful. We left around midday and had a flight to Newark before changing planes to head to Shannon. We left our home airport a little late but luckily made up time so it looked as if we'd make our connection. We're about to land in New Jersey (like we're-70-feet-off-the-ground about the land) when the pilot pulls us back up. We circle around for another attempt about 15 minutes later. Turns out there was another plane on our runway when trying to land the first time. That was about 45 seconds from a pretty big problem there. In all my years spent traveling that was a first.

We make it to our next plane, thinking that's surely all the drama for the day. We all board and are ready to take off. We back away from the gate only to return shortly after. Turns out some guy had too much to drink and really needed to head to the potty. He apparently tried to use the one near the rear of the plane but was denied (silly FAA rules that want you in your seat during take-off) so he rushed up to the forward lav. Nice. Well, that gets you escorted off the plane by about 6 cops. It also inconveniences a whole plane-ful of folks who end up delayed for an hour and a half while paperwork is completed and luggage is found and removed. Yet another first for my travels...

The actual flight, fortunately, was uneventful. There was an unbelievably well-behaved 3.5-month-old in front of us. She was going to meet her Irish family for the first time. She got way more sleep on the flight than we did. Do you know it only takes about 5 hours to fly from Jersey to Shannon? That's awesome. If I lived in the northeast, I think I'd be in Europe once a year. You know, time and money permitting.

Anyway, we made it to Shannon (only about 20 minutes late) early Thursday morning. We got a few Euros and our rental car (a Ford Focus) before heading to the Cliffs of Moher. This is a beautiful and very, very windy place.

After that, we went back to the car and napped for about an hour. Good times... Then we headed on to Galway. You know, by car. Where the steering wheel is on the opposite side. And you're driving on the wrong side of the road. The very narrow road. That's very curvy and hilly. And doesn't have a shoulder and is lined in 8-feet-tall shrubbery 6 inches from the car. And it's this way nearly all. The. Time. And sometimes? Instead of shrubbery? There might be a stone wall. Or a curb. Or a parked car. And other times? There's oncoming traffic. Let me just say that driving like this takes quite a bit more concentration than you're used to expending in the car here at home. But we obviously made it back alive and didn't even have any noticeable rental car damage. Does knowing that up front make the recap less suspenseful?

We made it to Galway, enjoying all the scenery along the way. We eventually found our Bed & Breakfast. We got a package that included B&B vouchers for anywhere across the country. Basically, we just found a place to stay wherever we ended up at night. That makes things really flexible and nice since we covered a lot of ground during the trip. So, yeah, Abbey Lee was our first B&B. Our hosts were the O'Shaughnessys. Pretty Irish, no? That night we ate dinner at Monroes Pub, The Husband got his first Guinness in the motherland, and we listened to a little live Irish music.

That leaves us at the end of Thursday. We may be looking at 4+ posts at this rate... But I'm going to go out on the front porch now where The Hubby suggested we watch the sun set. Which he suggested right after mowing the yard. I think I'll keep him.

we're back

2009-09-08T07:53:00.000-05:00

And apparently now I'm supposed to be working. Blah...

I've got lots of pictures and stories but first I will need to sift through my millions of emails and address what is suddenly a ton of work that piled up while I was gone. Good times. Yea reality.

until next saturday...

2009-08-26T13:00:00.001-05:00

eyes are smilin'

2009-08-25T08:16:00.000-05:00

My word, it's been a whirlwind 2 1/2 weeks since the wedding...

All of The Hubby's things have been moved in and I'm guessing more than half of it has been put away. That's meant that I go through all the items I own to purge and make room. So far, I've made it through the kitchen (whew), living room, dining room, hall closet, guest bedroom and closet (also whew), guest bath, and office (blech). That leaves the linen closet, our bedroom/bath, the sunroom (nightmare), and garage (not looking forward to it). I'm not gonna lie to you people. Moving him in has been difficult. I've lived here on my own for almost three years. You've seen my house. It's pretty much filled. He doesn't really come with a ton of stuff in comparison but it's been hard for me to change things and hard for us to compromise on where we want to put stuff, etc. Add to that that we're now living together and I haven't been traveling much so we're almost always around each other. A little adjustment time was needed but I'm feeling like we're back on track. What a relief... And, just for the record, even though it was a rocky start I was always glad to have him here. Nice to hear him say "we're home" or that it's "our house."

Also nice? Seeing that ring on his finger. I thought it would take me longer to adjust to my second one but it hasn't.

Last Friday there was a surprise party for one of my best friends. She was surprised so I suppose it was a success. There was also a Disney princess theme (because she fancies herself one). The awesome part is that her grown daughter picked up the cake topped with Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty and Belle for her 39-year-old mother. There was good food and drinks and chatting. There was a super cute, well-behaved dog. And there was an indoor bird that danced with me. From inside his cage. I'm not a big fan of indoor birds but whatever.

Sadly, I had to leave the party early because my dance card has been pretty full. On Saturday I co-hosted a baby shower for my lovely Matron of Honor. It was her first shower of any kind. No pressure. There were a couple of hiccups but things turned out well. Again, good food and drink and chatting. And this time I was able to stay for presents. Baby stuff is fun especially when you're super excited that this baby is coming. About two months left! So after the honeymoon, I'll have to help out with the nursery and try to finish it before the baby's done.

On Sunday, The Hubby and I had The Brother and SIL over for some food smoked on our newly-acquired (from them) smoker. It was tasty. I also was able to get a few things out of our overflowing pantry. (That's apparently a weird goal of mine now--it's just a little too cramped to function well.) I also got to set the table with our new dishes, silverware, napkins, and napkin rings and use our new serving dish.

Tomorrow we're off to Ireland. There has been some crammed honeymoon planning the last few days including one pretty big snafu that has allegedly been taken care of. We have a few nights' accommodations taken care of, a few more tentatively planned, and a loose schedule. Should be fun. I'm excited to go. And looking forward to the scenery and time away and cooler weather. All with my honey. Whom I'm mooning apparently.

Okie dokie. I guess that brings us current (with the exception of work but I'm not really ready to go into that yet anyway). I need to go put out the trash, take pictures of the third trapped animal (opossum this time), and call animal control. Good times.

little criminal

2009-08-22T18:29:00.001-05:00

That raccoon that The Husband caught recently? I'm sure he went to live on a farm or something. I mean who could harm this little face?

10 on tuesday (37)

2009-08-18T08:04:00.001-05:00

I haven't done a 10 on Tuesday in a LONG time. This week's was particularly applicable so I thought I'd get back in the saddle. This list was taken from my vows (we wrote our own).

10 Thing I Look For in a Romantic Interest

Handsome (listed first only because it was obvious at first site)
Smart (listed second because it was obvious immediately following "handsome")
Funny
Creative
Open to new things
Romantic
Moral
Fun to be with
Loving
A little bit quirky in an endearing way

There were a few others listed in the vows but I'll just stick with 10.